Man-made shelters in Spain and Portugal are salvaging thousands of rabbits and the ecosystems that depend on them. Wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) once covered the Iberian peninsula in their millions, earning Spain its name, which derives from the Phoenician for “Land of Rabbits”. Today, populations in the wild have dwindled in some parts to below one individual per hectare. The decline is depriving the region’s countryside of one of its signature residents and sending shockwaves up the food chain.
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